Education

Requires temporary retention of USDE-recognized accrediting agencies through 7/1/2029. Requires agencies to continue to operate substantially the same as in 2025. Amends education rules to apply the temporary accreditation rule and set 2030 operative framework. Repeals the temporary provisions on 1/1/2030 and requires no new funding.

Expands basic needs to include childcare services and direct support. Requires Basic Needs Coordinator and Center at CSU and UC by July 1, 2025. Centers coordinate with financial aid and connect students to CalFresh, CalEITC, YCTC, and WIC. Requires updating the needs guide to include SNAP Locator by 9/1/2025.

Restricts the internship pathway to districts, COEs, or regionally accredited colleges. Requires the commission to review preservice, PD, and supervision for internships. Becomes operative only if both this bill and AB 1009 pass and this bill is enacted after AB 1009. No new funding is authorized.

Establishes the Office of the Education Inspector General to oversee audits and investigations through 2034. Extends audit oversight to charter schools and JPAs; audits posted online; penalties for uncredentialed teachers. Imposes 16 hours of continuing education every two years for audit staff. Creates charter authorizer and mentor grant programs to support oversight.

Establishes a temporary nonresident tuition exemption for deported students in online programs. Requires reenrollment in online education within three years and college verification. Exemption lasts through online study and eligibility for financial aid on reenrollment. Requires a two-thirds vote, takes immediate effect, and sunsets in 2030.

Adds talent agents, managers, and coaches serving minors to mandated reporters. Maintains the misdemeanor penalty for failing to report up to 6 months in jail or $1,000. Allows mandated reporters to satisfy training via the general online course. Becomes operative only if companion bills pass, with private school training by 2026.

Establishes a Council within the Government Operations Agency to guide CTE and workforce. Adds high unemployment and high poverty as positive grant factors. Mandates a two-to-one grant match encumbered in the applying year. Ties provisions to AB 1098 and sets June 1, 2026 as operative.

Expands eligible LEAs to include JPAs formed solely of districts and COEs. Maintains a one-to-one state match up to $1 per dollar withheld and summer payout. Establishes January 1 notice by LEAs and March 1 employee election deadlines. Ties operative timing to AB 147/SB 147; CDE forms and annual appropriations govern funding.

Requires a one-time study on adopting a uniform bar exam to lower costs. Requires the committee to deliver the report by November 30, 2026. Delivers the report to the board of trustees, the Chief Justice, and the Assembly and Senate Judiciary committees. Sunsets the requirement on January 1, 2030 and provides no funding.

Requires districts to adopt a smartphone-use policy with stakeholder involvement. Establishes a five-year update cycle for the policy. Limits emergency use to cases explicitly addressed in safety plans. Preserves privacy protections and leaves enforcement to local policy.

Raises board member pay to scale with size and attendance. Caps county pay by class from $800 to $3,000 monthly. Sets ADA-based caps for district boards up to $4,500 monthly in large districts. Allows 5% annual increases, prorated pay, mileage, and pupil member compensation.

Creates four discrimination-prevention coordinators within the Office of Civil Rights to curb bias. Appoints four coordinators by the Governor and confirmed by the Senate. Operative only if AB 715 is enacted and effective by January 1, 2026. No funding or duties are specified; AB 715 and future regs set details.

Establishes literacy-focused credential standards and ELA/ELD material criteria. Adopts K–8 ELA/ELD materials by January 31, 2027 and updates guidance. Requires reading credentials prep by January 1, 2028, with EL and multilingual emphasis. Requires admin services literacy prep by Sept 1, 2028; LEAs certify non-SBE alignment.

Establishes the California Education Interagency Council to align education and workforce systems. Sets the first meeting by June 30, 2026 and semiannual meetings thereafter. Establishes a neutral managing entity and requires data-sharing MOUs and advisory committees. Operative only if a companion Senate bill is enacted and funding is appropriated.

Expands safety plans to cover child abuse and sex offense protections. Requires updating the safety plan by July 1, 2026 to address supervision and protection. Creates a statewide data system for egregious misconduct in noncertificated staff and private schools. Requires annual mandated reporter training for all staff and volunteers.

Establishes a limited Baccalaureate Degree in Nursing Pilot Program in CCCs. Allows up to ten districts to offer BSN, prioritizing underserved areas, with no new funding. Caps pilot at 25% of ADN size or 35 students per district. Gives priority enrollment to district ADN grads and LAO evaluation by July 1, 2033; sunsets in 2035.

Establishes the Office of Civil Rights to prevent discrimination and bias in schools. Prohibits adoption of materials and professional development that subject pupils to unlawful discrimination. Authorizes corrective actions, including technical assistance, improvement plans, and penalties for LEAs. Operative only if SB 48 takes effect by Jan 1, 2026, with Oct 1 bulletins and an antisemitism page.

OT/PT licenses may satisfy ASC prerequisites; supervision requires more qualifications. Raises ASC experience to five years and includes school OT/PT experience. Offers up to two-year waiver for candidates who complete an approved program and hold credentials. Operative timing tied to AB 959; keeps a nonrenewable five-year ASC.

Establishes free English-language DIP materials aligned with CDC. Requires DIP groups to provide English materials free and supply a one-page alignment letter. Creates a state repository of water-safety curricula on the education department site. Authorizes regulatory review by public health to update drowning rules.

Defines ultraprocessed foods of concern and restricted school foods. Phases out restricted foods and ultraprocessed foods by July 1, 2029. Prohibits vendors from supplying restricted foods or ultraprocessed foods by 2032. Requires vendor reports by Feb 1 2028–2032 and annual public reports, and training.

Authorizes admissions preferences for descendants of slavery by public and private higher education. Defines 'descendant of slavery' as direct lineage to a pre-1900 enslaved person with five criteria. Leaves adoption optional and lacks implementing standards or funding. Requires alignment with federal law and may implicate state constitutional limits.

Replaces a public member with a veteran-benefits expert when a term expires. Enacts a shift to two public members and one veteran expert after expiry. Maintains three public members before any expiry. Requires fiscal committee review and no new appropriation.

Requires CSU to protect undocumented students’ tuition exemption during enforcement. Mandates Dreamer Resource Liaison support to help access financial aid and resources. Establishes a systemwide policy on grades, withdrawals, and reenrollment for disrupted students.

Establishes tighter state oversight of nonpublic nonsectarian schools including out-of-state placements. Requires in-person pupil interviews during onsite reviews of out-of-state providers and a new interview tool by 2026. Requires quarterly pupil check-ins for out-of-state placements and reporting on a department form updated by 2026.

Requires the next revision to add a democracy-preservation criterion to future criteria. Maintains voluntary district participation and the Six Proven Practices framework. Excludes funding and mandates fiscal review.